After this operation, the whole world heard about the Polish special unit. The capture of the oil platform at the Umm Kasr port in 2003 was one of the key maneuvers that opened the way for the coalition forces to Iraq. GROM did a great job - although until the last second it was not known if everything would succeed.
"You don't get such tasks just like that" - proudly emphasizes Colonel Andrzej Kruczyński "Wodzu", who commanded a group of thunders under Umm Kasr. He believes that entrusting the Poles with such a large operation was an expression of great trust on the part of the allies. It meant that they were treated on an equal footing with their own super services:the Delta commandos and the British and Australian SAS (who also took action that night).
It was March 20, 2003; the intervention of a coalition of international forces - in practice mainly the USA and Great Britain - in Iraq was just beginning. The attack on two oil platforms located near the entrance to the Umm Kasr port in the Persian Gulf was of fundamental importance to the fate of the entire conflict. Our commandos have just been dispatched to one of them - the KAAOT terminal. As journalist Wojciech Borakiewicz tells:
Umm Kasr is the entrance to Iraq. KAAOT terminal - a keyhole. GROM is to get it and plug it so that the situation from the first Gulf War will not be repeated when the Iraqis dumped tons of oil into the water. They had already set fire to and destroyed seven wells in Rumaila. If the same happens in Umm Kasr, the 350,000th coalition army will be disabled.
"We're going through the night"
The thunderers had been in the region since 2002, helping the Americans and the British to identify the area. They were perfectly prepared. "We had good photographic equipment and we managed to take dozens of excellent photos, which have become, you can safely say, the key material for planning the entire operation" - he reports in the book that has just been published "72 hours" Kruczyński.
The action began shortly before dark. Admiral Bob Harward himself, who unexpectedly appeared on the coast, delivered p flaming speech to the soldiers . The commandos then boarded the Mark V high-speed assault boats and headed for the platform.
Thunderbolts just before leaving. Photo from Andrzej Kruczyński's book "72 hours" (Bellona 2019).
The water crossing took over two hours. Not far from the target, the thunderers switched to landing pontoons - RIBs. There were already some of the necessary equipment on them, which included, as Kruczyński mentions:"caving ladders, stihle, breakthrough hammers, tridents, medical bags, asbestos blankets to prevent fire, and our individual equipment, which weighs after several dozen kilos per soldier ". Everything happened in almost complete silence. "Chief" says:
The RIBs run at low speed to keep the motors running quietly. One by one. Nobody can see us, we cannot betray ourselves. We have to merge with the background, and that's what we do. We become water and sky. We become air. We only become invisible soldiers with our thoughts and focus.
Surprise and utter confusion - that was the plan of the thunderstorms. So far, everything has been going as planned. Finally, a platform appeared before the commandos' eyes. "It looks really menacing in this darkness," recalls Kruczyński. It took the commandos literally a moment to get into position.
"War has its own rules"
Before Kruczyński could congratulate himself on his first success, however, confusion began. As reported in the book "72 Hours" :
It's not too long, but two shots are fired. We hear that evidently from a smoothbore shotgun. Fuck, fuck! "What the fuck?" I think. After a while I get a report, that one of ours just grabbed a padlock from a smooth barrel hanging on the gate leading to the main pipe on the platform . It is this pipe that is to be secured in the first place. Fuck me, I think. "But the tension did make itself felt."
Fortunately, a moment later the "Chief" received a report that the pipe had been secured. His people were now walking along a long, narrow footbridge, a dozen or so meters above the water. Though they had not faced any immediate threat so far, the commander had mixed feelings. "I just don't know what can happen or basically I know that anything can happen at any moment ”Explains.
And the worst was still ahead of them:they were to clean both the lower level of the platform and its hotel part, covering several dozen rooms. This is where the first opponents appeared. The fight has begun. The commandos had to have their eyes around their heads - when the shotguns went into motion, they paid attention not only to their enemies, but also to avoid starting a fire by accident ...
Meanwhile, the thunderstorms overpowered subsequent employees of the platform, who, although dressed in plain clothes, were soldiers. Kruczyński points out that the commandos have taken all steps to ensure their safety:
Many may find it shocking, but we created so-called human shields from the detainees . This is in case someone thought to shoot us from the windows of the rooms in the hotel part of the platform, not yet fully taken over by ours. We were among them, so hitting a soldier would be quite difficult. It's common practice, but it often evokes mixed feelings, to put it mildly. No problem, war is war, it has its own rules.
Polish commandos set off on Mark V assault boats. Picture from Andrzej Kruczyński's book "72 hours" (Bellona 2019).
"The guys are furious ..."
Problems arose with each step. "Most of the doors on the platform were secured as if they were doors to a Swiss bank vault "- says Kruczyński. No wonder shotgun ammunition was running out soon.
The saws went in motion. After several dozen minutes, they also ran out of fuel. "The boys are furious, the« whores »fly through the air like doves, but there is no way we will give up" - recalls the commander.
The next rooms were already forced through with the use of ordinary breakthrough equipment. It was hard physical work, interrupted by the arrest of more prisoners. In total, more than twenty people were handed over to the commandos. Only the burnt part of the platform remained - after securing it, the operation was completed. Poles could hand over the captured terminal to the Americans, which they did as soon as temporary communication problems were fixed.
Andrzej Kruczyński "Wodzu" is resting after the action. Photo from his book "72 Hours" (Bellona 2019).
At the end, the thunderers recorded one more, symbolic victory. Kruczyński in the book "72 hours ” writes:
Descending from the conquered platform, one of my soldiers, "Kroll", noticed the Iraqi flag fluttering on its mast . He came up to me and asked if he could take her. I let him. After returning to Poland, as a valuable trophy, I gave it to the creator of our unit, General Sławomir Petelicki. He was so proud of us.
"It was our success" - judges years later "Wodzu" - "each of us knew that we were there, on this fucking platform, damn good and harmonious". He emphasizes that the commandos have accomplished the task entrusted to them very well, and that without any losses of their own. He has one answer to criticism from the writhing politicians - and even individual participants in the action -. "The dog licked their face!".
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